WBUR executive makes big bet on podcasts
WBUR focused on the medium of radio for its first 70 years. But chief content officer Victor Hernandez wants to broaden the Boston University-affiliated station’s mission for the next 70 years.
“How do we move from being a respected powerhouse public radio station and still keep that up,” Hernandez said, “but also evolving that into a multiplatform institution? . . . We rarely describe ourselves as a radio station [anymore].”
That means delivering stories to smart phones, telling more of them on stage, and reaching an audience through social media and newsletters.
“The chances of much of that interaction occurring through an old-fashioned radio are becoming less and less every week, every month, every year,” Hernandez added.
Most notably, WBUR is in the midst of a podcast push. Last month, WBUR launched a revamped and curated daily podcast tied to its nationally syndicated show “Here & Now.” And on Nov. 7, WBUR launches “The Common,” a roughly 15-minute daily podcast to be hosted by Darryl C. Murphy, focusing on local news and culture.
Hernandez was recruited by chief executive Margaret Low, and joined WBUR in March 2021. He worked remotely for several months, then moved to Southborough from Seattle. Hernandez has a background in TV news and digital media, with various roles on his resume at CNN and NBC affiliates in California; most recently, he was executive editor at Cascade Public Media in Seattle. At WBUR, he manages a team of about 120 journalists, including WBUR’s 80-person local newsroom, 30 people who work on “Here & Now,” and 10 with WBUR’s other nationally syndicated show, “On Point.”
It was important for Hernandez to work in person at WBUR’s studio, particularly because he was getting settled in a new role, in a new region. But WBUR is increasingly hiring talent in other parts of the country for its national shows: “Here & Now” cohost Deepa
Fernandes is based in the San Francisco area, for example, while cohost Scott Tong is in Washington, D.C.; cohost Robin Young remains here in Boston.
“It presents for a more full conversation,” Hernandez said. “We’re not all doing [the show] from a geographic bubble.”
Moving here, though, means adjusting to New England winters. That topic came up several times while Hernandez, a southern California native, was being interviewed for his job. So far, so good, Hernandez joked, but “check back in a few winters.”
Wu has eyes on downtown rebound
Mayor Michelle Wu knows downtown Boston has not bounced back from the exodus of office workers in 2020. Firstfloor retail vacancies abound today, and many large employers are paring back their footprints as leases come up for renewal.
Wu stressed in a meeting last week with Associated Industries of Massachusetts that reviving the city’s central business district remains a big priority of her administration, as she fielded questions from AIM’s Brooke Thomson and from the audience at the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts headquarters. The fate of downtown also came up in her recent speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
Wu expects to release a report from Boston Consulting Group any day now, with suggestions about the next steps to take on reviving downtown. Among the top priorities she cited at the AIM meeting: advocating for more child care and early education, so parents can be freed up to go into the office, and championing a more reliable MBTA, so commuters can trust that taking the train or bus won’t cause a big headache. “Until we have a way for people to not have a visceral reaction about thinking about going downtown because of transportation [reliability], that’s going to be a major constraint for our region,” Wu said.
Polito making the rounds, one last time
Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito had a busy itinerary crisscrossing the state last week — busy even for someone who has already visited all 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts. The reason? It was Massachusetts STEM Week: Polito, who cochairs the STEM Advisory Council, had a long list of stops to help promote and recognize science, tech, engineering and math programs in public schools.
On Monday, she kicked things off at Northeastern University with Governor Charlie Baker, and then it was out to a robotics demonstration at Burncoat High School in Worcester, for example, while on Tuesday, she made five stops, including at the Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute and at New Balance in Lawrence. On Friday, Polito spoke with students at a STEM Week showcase at the Reggie Lewis center in Roxbury, followed by a panel featuring representatives from Dell Technologies, Moderna, and National Grid.
This was the fifth year for STEM Week. Polito, who is set to leave office in January with Baker, said she hopes the next gubernatorial administration can keep the momentum going.
“We need to be intentional around this connection between education and the economy,” Polito said. “For me, STEM is all about opportunity, not only for employers and the future competitiveness of Massachusetts but also for people to see themselves in meaningful careers.”
Two cars for different companies
Who’s got the deets? Paul English’s Tesla, for one.
When introducing his new restaurant review app, Deets, at a launch party at Mariel in Post Office Square last week, English started with a slide showing his two cars and their respective license plates. In the photo’s background: a Jeep with the license plate “KAYAK” — a reference to the travel-tech startup he cofounded, and eventually helped sell to Priceline in a $1.8 billion deal that closed in 2013. In the foreground: a Tesla, with the license plate “DEETS.” English said he got the Kayak plate about 10 years ago, around the time that company went public. He said he got the Deets plate about a month ago, in advance of the app launch.
“It was really a joke to the team,” English said, “that Kayak is the old and Deets is the new, and is going to overtake Kayak.”
Off-the-beaten-path idea for GE’s new HQ
As General Electric chief executive Larry Culp hunts for a new headquarters, he might want to give Joseph Bourgeois a ring.
Bourgeois, a production supervision manager at GE’s Lynn factory, offered up a suggestion on LinkedIn following the news last week that GE would be leaving its Fort Point HQ only about three years after moving into it. His proposal: Why not Lynn?
GE has committed to staying in Boston as Culp splits the company into three pieces by spinning out its health care and energy businesses over the next two years. Long-term? It’s anybody’s guess. GE’s remaining business will be focused on aviation, so the historic jet engine factory in Lynn would seem a perfect place to land. At least it is to Bourgeois.
The factory’s appeal: proximity to Boston, a commuter rail station, ocean views from two floors, a fitness center and medical center, relatively affordable housing nearby, a rich history dating back to the start of GE’s aviation business. Oh, one more thing: the price. “I can’t tell you where GE’s next move will be, I’m not in that loop,” Bourgeois wrote. “I can tell you what the Lynn Site has to offer, it’s free and everyone loves free.”